Rotary engine



(No Model.) 4 sh'eets. sheet 1.

H. SQPER'KINS..

` ROTARY ENGINE. No. 361,447. Patented Apr. 19, 1887.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.) y

H. S. PERKINS.

- ROTARY ENGINE? N0. 361,447. Pate-ntedApr. 19, 1887.

N4 PUERS. Phnbllwgngllor. Walhingtun, D, C.

(No Model.) 4, sheetssheet 4.

11. S. PBRK1NS.

ROTARY ENGINE. l No. 361,447. PatentedApr. 19,1887.

.dttorney l IWW NNNNN zn's, rhmmnognphaf. wmingm. n. c.

UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY s. rERkINs, or DUNHAM, ALABAMA.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 361,447, dated April19. 1887. Application tiled July 21, 1886. Serial No. 208,653. (Nomodel.)

To @ZZ whom it 1v1/ay concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY S. PERKINs, ,of Dunham, in the county ofButler and State of Alabama, a citizen of the United States, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Rotary Engines and Valve-Gears,which is` Fig. 5 is 'a section of a part similar to Fig. 1y

after a quarter-revolution from the positions therein. Figs. 6 and 7 aresections similar to Figs. 2and 3, in like way. Figs. 4, 8, 9, and 10illustrate the steam passages and valves, the upperpart of Fig. 9 beingturned partly around from right relations as shown in Fig. l0.

This invention consists iu au improved rotary engineand in severalimproved features therein, as set forth hereinafter, and as shown in thedrawings. This improved engine has two parts, A B,

` each of which can be alternativelyrrotated by the steam, acting thesame wayin each case, while the other is held stationary. The part A ismounted in bearings at theends, and bears part B, mounted with bearingsB6 upon it.

When part Aturns, power is taken from it by belt on drum A5, and whenpart B turns power is taken by a belt on lits periphery. Part A consistsot' a shaft, A', and a disk portion, A2. Disk A2 bears a head, A, whichfits closely and turns freely in steam-chamber F as a piston when part Aturns, and acts in the same way as a stationary abutment for -the steamwhen part B turns. This head A3 has springpacking on its faces againstthe walls of chamber F. Part A has passages through its disk and shaftfor the inlet and outlet of steam, connecting through one of itsjournals, and bears cams K K, for operating valve-plungers B4 B5( PartBconssts of two duplicate side portions, B B2, mounted by bearings B oushaft A. These portions t closely to disk Alz and head A3, and have ashell, B3, outside of the track of head A3, which connects them andincloses the steam-.chamber F. Annular packing-rings G G', abuttingagainst the sides of disk A2 to prevent the escape of steam from thischam` ber, are seated in arts B B as shown.

Ilungers B4 B5 have seats in shell B3, in

which they fit closely and slide in and out to close the chamber Fbehind head A3, to act as abutments against which the steam expands tocause rotation, and to open it for the passage of part A3. Theseplungers B4 B5 are each held by aseparate cross-bar and stirrup-frame,

which have yoke parts H H and H2113 on the two side's,with bifurcatedguides on their ends, having slideway-bearings in the outer frames ofsides B B2, arranged so they will beheld firmly and allowed to slidefreely to give motion to the plungers in opening and closing thesteamchamber F.

Parts H HHZ H3 form yokes over shaft A', so as to slide endwise acrossit the required distance to give motion to the plungers B* B5, and haveeach two followers, h It', which bear on oppositesides of camsK K, toreceive such motion during the rotation of engine.

Cams K K are duplicates, on the two sides of the engine, and each hasthree tracks, K K2 K3, around it, of peculiar forms, as illustrated, togive proper motion to plunger-valvesA B B5. The two outer tracks on eachcamhead are alike, andeach has a follower, h', of one of the yoke partsH H H3 H3 bearing on it, to receive motion to push the plungers B4B5out, whilethe' inner tracks, K2, are of a different form, and each hasthc other follower, l1, of twoof these yoke paris, connected fromseparate plungers, bearing on its opposite sides, to

receive motions to draw the plungers inward. The opposite sides of thesetwo sets of camtracks are each of suitable forni to conform to themotion given by the other, so as to hold the yoke parts firmly by theirtwo followers h h in proper position at each portion of the revolution.The relative arrangements of .these cams, followers, yoke parts, and theplungers operated by them are illustrated in Figs. l, 2, and 3 in oneposition, and in auother position, at a quarter-revolution therefrom, inFigs. 5, 6, and 7.. In these they are represented as if part B were ininotion in the direction of the arrows vin Fig. 2, while part A isstationary; but by turning one set of figures a quarter round thepositions may be compared as if the part A were in motion in thecontrary direction and part B stationary. The relative motions of thetwo sets of followers connected with each plunger is such as to hold theplungers in, to close the steanrchamber F for more than half arevolution each, and to push them outward to pass part A3, as indicatedin dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 6, within the other halfrevolution, eachin its turn.

Steam is admitted throughasteam-chest, C, over one of the journals ofshaft A', and exhausted through a passage, E, opening from the same. Twoports open from this chest C for the passage of the steam, and aslide-valve, D, is arranged therein to move back or forth by means of arod connecting with a hand-lever, D', outside, so as to cover eitherport and the exhaust-opening E, to exhaust the steam from such port,while leaving the other port open for the admission of live steam to theengine. By sliding this valve back or forth, as illustrated in Figs. 4and S, the steam can be turned into either side, to turn the engineeither way, and to reverse its motion instantly.

Two separate passages extend from the two ports in the steam-chest Cthrough separate turn-valves,l? P', to separate annular spaces c c2 inthe journal-bearing, and through separate passages, c3 cf, into andthrough shaft A and disk A2, which open on opposite sides of head A intothe steam-chamber F at a a'. Through either of these passages the steamenters the chamber F behind head A, as at a, and forces the head A andthe plunger B* or B5, which closes this chamber behind it, apart,one orthe other being movable, the expanded steam at the same time escaping by the other passage before head A, as at a'. This acts to keep up acontinuous rotation of either part A or part B.

If desired, the steam can be taken in solid continuously, or it may becut off a portion of each revolution and allowed to expand, and this canbe regulated by valves P I to any degrec desired, and the speed andforce of the engine regulated thereby.

To eut off and regulate the inlet and outlet of steam, the valves I Pare arranged to turn back and forth by cranks, (shown in dotted lines inFig.l0,) so as to close and open the passage-ways through them atintervals. These cranks have pivoted connecting-bars P2 B3, to turn themback and forth as required, which bars have pivots on their other endsarranged to fit and slide in curved ways s s'in an oscillating lever,B., pivoted at It, so as to be moved thrustwise by the motion of thislever to operate the valves, and have levers L L', con-l nected by bars,by which they can be pushed along the slotways in lever It to anydistance from pivot B2, so as to receive any degree of motion desired.By holding them at the center of this lever B no motion is given and thevalves are left open continuously, while the motion and cutting oli'becomes quicker and greater the greater the distance from the center.Either can be moved separately by its hand-lever L L'.

The lever It is operated by an eccentric, M, (shown in dotted lines inFig. 10,) which is fixed on shaft A' or on the hub of part B, whicheveris intended to turn, or onto both for alternative use. This has aconnecting-bar, It', moved by it,which is pivoted to lever It to givemotion thereto,to operate the valves PB' back and forth once eachrevolution of the engine, and to such degree foreach as regulated by theposition of its lever L L',to regulate the speed and power of theengine. In addition to this,a governor may be used in any suitable wayto regulate speed.

Various modifications may be made.

The valves B'1 B", instead of being made as plungers, as shown, may bemade like valves P B', Fig. 10, with one side cut away, so that byturning them to a certain point the head A3 can pass, and so that byturning them back the chamber F will be closed, as with the plungervalveform. In this case the cranks to turn them may be connected by pivotsand slots, or by pivoted bars, with yoke parts I-I H' Hz H", so as to beoperated by their movement, as in the case of the plungers.

I reserve such patentable features shown and set fort-h, but not claimedherein, as may be shown in another application to be filed before theissue of patent hercon, in favor of such application.

I claiml. In a rotary engine, the disk A2, having head A3, combined withparts B' B2 B, having valveplungcrs B* B5 therein, and with yoke parts HH' H2 H, having followers 7L h' and cams K K therefor.

2. In a rotary engine, the disk A2, having head A3 and steam-.passages aa', combined with parts B' B2 B:z and plungers B4 B, held by yoke-frameshaving followers on cams K K.

3. A slide-frame, I-I, having two followers, h h', combined with thevalve B4 of a rotaryengine steam-chamber, connected to be oper ated byframe II, and with a cam, K, having a separate track for each follower,of forms to correspond, so as to hold the two followers in contact onopposite sides during the rotation, to operate frame I-I and the valveB'.

4. In a rotary engine, the disk A2, having head A? and steam-passages aa', combined with parts B B2 B3, having steam-chamberF, and two valves,B" B5, adapted to open and close the same, with cams K K, and with followers h h', connected to operate the valves.

5. The slide-valve' D, having handle D', combined with two turn-valves,l? P', having cranks and operating-bars, and having passages throughthem controlled by valve D.

6. In an engine, the turn-valve I, combined with eccentric M and withoscillating lever B, connected to operate the valve.

7. In an engine, the turn-valve I), combined with oscillating lever B,having slot way S therein, and with a lever-handle, L,

IOO

IIO

other is held stationary, in alternative order.

9. The rotary engine, having 'disk A2, with head A3 and steampassages aa', combined with parts B B2, having valves B4 B5, proro vided withyokes bearing followers h h', and

yWith cams K K therefor, and with reversevalve Dand regulating-valves PPC HENRY S. PERKINS.

Witnesses:

, U. C. VrNsoN, A. N. GLENN.

